After playing on Overwatch 2 during an OWL Finals exhibition match, pros Space and Super have revealed that the highly anticipated Push game mode feels like Call of Duty and team deathmatch.
Overwatch pros got to test out Overwatch 2 in an exhibition match during the Overwatch League’s Grand Finals and had some very interesting reactions. Some discussed the shift to 5v5 and the changes to supports, but the Push mode also made quite the impact.
A highly anticipated new mode (which should effectively replace 2CP), fans wondered how the pros would enjoy Push. And, as it turns out, they did have fun — but likened it to Call of Duty or the Arcade’s TDM.
The tank players, very in tune with a game’s tempo, had pretty intriguing reactions. Both the Los Angeles Gladiators’ Indy ‘Space’ Halpern and San Francisco Shock’s Matthew ‘Super’ Delisi described the mode’s pace as different to the Overwatch they’re used to.
Overwatch 2 Push mode: Call of Duty x Team Deathmatch?
Caster Matt ‘MrX’ Morello hosted a Twitter Spaces talk with some pros who played in the exhibition match and asked about the Push mode specifically. Noting that, from watching, “it seemed really fast-paced, like constant skirmishes,” he wanted to hear some first impressions.
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And for SPACE, the first impression was one that may surprise Overwatch purists: “It really just felt like I was playing Call of Duty — just keep spawning and keep fighting around the hill.”
While SPACE said the mode ultimately felt like CoD or King of the Hill (also known as Control in OW1), Super followed up with a slightly different take: “It definitely felt like deathmatch.”
Pros not worried about CoD cloning
Here’s where diehard Overwatch fans might get concerned and worry that Activision and Blizzard’s merger has gone too far. But no, the pros aren’t worried that OW2 will turn into another CoD clone.
Going into further detail about Push, Super explained that the TDM, KotH, CoD sentiments might be “because it was so new that no one knew the maps — where to fight, how to take fights … It was very brand new for everybody.”
As anyone who has played in lower-ranked lobbies can attest, the game definitely loses some of its strategy when people are unfamiliar with maps and modes. So there’s a chance that Push’s pacing felt especially CoD-like due to a mix of 5v5 and general newness of the mode.
With Overwatch 2 still on pace for 2022 and devs continuing to tinker with heroes and balancing, we’ll be sure to keep an eye out for more insights into the highly anticipated sequel.